What’s the format of the Tiger Woods hosted 2023 Hero World Challenge?
The Hero World Challenge is a tournament with many peculiarities. The first one is that it is hosted by none other than Tiger Woods, an active legend of world golf. But that is not the end of its unique details.
The format of the Hero World Challenge is classic stroke play over 72 holes (four rounds). However, there are no cuts and the field is extremely small. Only 20 players are invited by Tiger Woods to the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
The field is made up of recent Major winners and top players in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
Two 2023 Major winners (Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark) have been confirmed for the 2023 edition. All announced players are ranked in the top 30 of the OWGR.
Another special feature of the Hero World Challenge is that it is a fundraising event for Tiger Woods' TGR Foundation. As such, it is part of the PGA Tour schedule, but does not award FedEx Cup points.
The prize money is also not considered "official". The Hero World Challenge does, however, award world ranking points.
The event lasts a week, with the competitive portion running from Thursday through Sunday. Between Monday and Wednesday there are other activities, such as the Pro-Am event, which is reserved for top amateurs. For this reason, this part of the activities is closed to the public.
Hero World Challenge venue and history explored
The Hero World Challenge is currently played at Albany Golf Course, located on the island of New Providence, Bahamas. It is a 7414 yard, par 72 course. The tournament has been held there since 2015.
Previously, three other venues hosted the event. Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, hosted the inaugural event. Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, hosted the event from 2000 to 2013. The 2014 edition was played in Iselworth, Florida.
The leading winner of the Hero World Challenge is Tiger Woods with five victories. Davis Love III, Graeme McDowell and Viktor Hovland are the other multiple winners with two wins each.
Three players, who will be at the tournament this year, could repeat as champions. They are defending champion (for the second year in a row) Viktor Hovland, as well as Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler. This list could grow as the identity of one of the competitors is yet to be revealed.
The single round record is held by Rickie Fowler, who shot 61 in the fourth round of the 2017 edition. Jordan Spieth has held the aggregate and to par records since 2014 (26-under 262).
Also in 2014, Spieth set the record for the largest margin of victory (10 shots over runner-up Henrik Stenson). The best come-from-behind victory is Tom Lehman's in 2000 (he came from 12th).